Hayley Williams Joins Failure on New Song ‘The Rising Skyline’

Failure released "The Rising Skyline" on April 21. The track brings Paramore singer Hayley Williams into the mix. It's a taste of what's coming when the Los Angeles trio will unveil its seventh studio album, Location Lost, on April 24.

This marks something unusual for the band: a guest artist joining them. The song strips things down to an acoustic breakup arrangement, letting Williams' voice shine through bare instrumentation.

"Failure doesn't do a lot of collaborations, but my friendship with Hayley, and her long-standing support of the band, turned this song into a very satisfying duet," lead singer Ken Andrews said, according to Stereogum. "It's probably the most delicate song we've ever done, and her vocal approach really brought that out."

Williams takes over the second verse before both singers merge for a heavy chorus. She also shows up in the band's recent documentary, Every Time You Lose Your Mind.

The partnership didn't spring from nowhere. Paramore covered the 1996 hit, "Stuck On You," on its 2006 Summer Tic EP. Then, Andrews and Williams shared a stage at an LA benefit last year.

There's more history here. Andrews mixed Paramore's 2013 self-titled album, and Williams pointed to the band's 1996 release, Fantastic Planet, as fuel for starting Paramore in the first place.

Location Lost packs nine tracks from the trio of Andrews, Greg Edwards, and Kellii Scott. "The Air's on Fire" and "A Way Down" came out ahead of the full release. 

The group started its spring North American tour on April 21 with a sold-out album release show at Zebulon in Los Angeles. Shows run through May 20 in Toronto. All Under Heaven backs them on most dates, with festival slots at Sick New World in Las Vegas on April 24 and Welcome To Rockville in Daytona Beach on May 8.

The fall tour dates will start on Sept. 30 in San Francisco. Stops include Vancouver, Seattle, Brooklyn, Indianapolis, Denver, and Dallas. The last show happens on Oct. 30 in Los Angeles. Quannnic will support all fall headline shows.

Tickets for fall dates will go on sale on April 24 through Failure's website. Most spring shows sold out before the tour even launched.